In August of 1999 I had my first panic attack. Since that time I've had a life filled with anxiety, worry, fear, and general apprehension. The fact that I have anxiety is not really surprising when you think about it. My great grandmother, grandmother and mother all had or have the condition. In my case it was mostly genetics that brought this on, but whatever the cause it all sucks nonetheless. In retrospect despite my long struggle with anxiety I've still lead a relatively normal life. Sure I've missed some parties, don't drink, or
Archives for August 2009
Vacation
Summer is upon us once more and that means one thing: vacations (or holidays if you’re English!). For most people holidays are something to look forward to. A time to relax and lose any stress they’ve accumulated over the year. However, if you’re anything like me, then jetting off somewhere hot and sunny is just about the most testing experience you can imagine. Why? Well, where to start? How about the plane. In truth the prospect of jumping on an aircraft of any kind is only marginally preferable to leaping into a fish tank full of
Anxiety And The Gym
As long as this blog has existed I have always encouraged my readers to exercise because whether it's running, biking, swimming, or whatever it's a well known fact that exercise can relieve stress and anxiety. I've worked out myself off and on for some time but always in my home. I've always been too self conscious to run down the street or worst yet join a gym. It's not like I've never been a gym member, just not for a long time. Recently I rejoined a local gym and the adjustment has been steep. This is because for anxiety sufferers
Cannabis
Weed, marijuana, pot, hash, dope – it has a million names but I guess the most universal is cannabis so that’s the one I’ll stick with here. After alcohol, nicotine and caffeine it is the most commonly used drug. Indeed over one hundred million Americans have tried it and twenty five million in the past year. And why not? It’s not physically addictive, it can relax you and can cause euphoria. It can turn you into the world’s greatest philosopher! Therefore why, you might ask, am I bothering to write this article? Well, I guess it’s by way of
A Medical Condition Could Be Causing Your Anxiety
Many anxiety sufferers really do suffer because of a potential chemical imbalance, heredity, excessive stress, substance abuse, or other mental ailments. However, there is a group of people that have an anxiety disorder caused by an actual medical condition. In some people there really is a phyiscal basis for their anxious suffering and this is why regular medical screenings are important. Now statistically it is very difficult to say what number of anxiety sufferers have anxiety because of a pre-existing medical condition. But the fact
Mental Chatter
It’s often said that the anxiety sufferer is his own worst enemy and in a sense that’s true. If you’ve ever just listened to what the voice in your head is saying to you, without you even realizing, you’d be pretty amazed. This really hit home to me a couple of weeks ago after yet another trip to my therapist. She asked me to go through an exercise to help me tune into what my brain was telling itself every time I get an anxiety symptom. For me my anxiety centers on my heart. I’m always paranoid I have a heart condition or that I’m about to